Why we fight! Using government to sell America
By Bruce Walker
web posted November 5, 2001
During the New Deal, Franklin Roosevelt shamelessly supported
"art" and "literature" projects which supported his political
agenda, and liberals have continued this use of public funds - you
know, the "bottomless pit of dollars"? - to produce cultural
propaganda against the values of free people and a free, safe,
strong nation.
During the Second World War, the federal government
produced a large number of films, posters, and other direct and
subtle messages for "Why We Fight." This was, of course, a key
component in sustaining within our nation the resolve to continue
a global war in which our "allies" were often really rotten people,
like Stalin, and in which our "enemies" were often the peoples of
nations like Italy and Finland, who were often good people.
The stranglehold which the Left has on Hollywood is almost
complete. How many motion pictures or prime time television
programs actually portray our nation and its patriotic leaders or
its core values sympathetically? How many savage all that
America stands for in ways much more effective and subtle than
crude propaganda of bin Ladin?
The President must expend political capital, and there is no good
reason to delay. He should ask for a large budget to produce
movies, books, television programs, radio programs, art, music,
and posters that explain "Why We Fight." Use the model of FDR
and the Second World War, which will make it very difficult for
Democrats to oppose.
Then he should use the vast resources of the federal government
to produce films, programs, national radio and television
broadcasts, books, magazines, songs, and art that celebrate our
freedoms and our goodness in the world. Some of this should be
for foreign consumption, but much of it - like the federal efforts
during the Second World War - should be overtly intended for
American audiences (which, of course, would also include the
many foreign nationals who live in America, but who have never
heard the positive message of America presented).
This work should be dramatic and fictional, to a large degree.
They should not only fill the mind but also warm the heart. Why
do people from all over the world come here? Why do
persecuted faiths, including quarreling branches of Islam, choose
freely to live in America? Why are the peoples of America the
most diverse in the world? Why do Americans contribute more
true charity as a cultural norm than other peoples do as a
theological injunction?
Many liberals actors, writers, and producers will protest this
"propaganda." Great! Precisely what we should hope! Have a
new generation of articulate, thoughtful, tough conservative
writers, photographers, composers, actors, singers, and
directors receive modest compensation from the federal
government for joyfully producing messages about the true glory
of America. Let this new generation of cutting edge entertainment
and information talents be committed conservatives who believe
in America!
There is, of course, a grave danger. We do not want the federal
government to overwhelm private sector activities. All too often
conservatives have seen the practical destruction of options by
government operations performing work that the private sector
can do better (public education and public health are excellent
examples).
This may be a danger, however, that we must accept. The
insinuation of Leftist dogma into the institutions of corporate
America, particularly in areas like news and entertainment, is so
pervasive that conservatives have long been little more than
pathetic Jim Crow jokes. The very real intolerance of anything
but Leftist orthodoxy in these areas of public life, which has been
profoundly assisted by government support for "education" and
federal control of broadcast licenses, has created a condition in
which the triumphant of a conservative film maker is about as
likely as an educated black man being elected Mayor of
Jackson, Mississippi in 1900.
The danger is also less serious because the federal government
need not discriminate against liberals, but only insist that the
purpose of the funding and resources is to show how good
America and its values really are in the world. True intellectual
talents on the Left have longed since secretly understood their
folly for years. It is fear and helplessness that moderates and
limits their work for the truth.
How could we be sure that the President would use resources
the way we want? First, he would have the power. He executes
the laws and appoints (even if it is a recess appointment) people
to make the decisions on what to produce and how to produce
it. Second, President Bush has demonstrated an inner toughness
and an understanding of how bad our enemies within truly can
be.
There is one final reason why President Bush should make this
pitch and make it now. Most conservatives would be content is
government at all levels was truly neutral and passive. What can
liberals say to oppose the President using federal resources to
make a case for our nation and its ideals? Nothing much, unless
they are willing to say that government should simply stay
completely out of this area.
No Public Broadcasting System, no National Public Radio, no
National Endowment for the Arts, no federal funds for mushy
social science courses in schools and colleges. If ideas and
presentation of those ideas must compete purely in the private
market with government utterly neutral in every way, so be it -
we conservatives will be better off!
Opposing the President in mustering the creative genius of
America to win back the hearts and minds of peoples in our
nation and around the world would place Leftists in the worst
possible situation. First, the overwhelming majority of Americans
believe in fighting this war with every weapon we can, including
entertainment, information, and ideas. Second, the Left leans
heavily on tax dollars to fund their vile and unpopular portrayals
of America as Amerika.
There is no outcome for conservatives except to make it easier
for our ideas to prevail. If the President can use government for
the purpose of propagating the good ideas of conservatism and
build up an experienced group of conservative talent, then that is
very good for us and for America. If the only result is that Leftist
who have used our own tax dollars to wage ideological war on
everything we value, well that is pretty good too. Win - win for
conservatives.
Bruce Walker (feb6@enterstageright.com) is a senior writer with
Enter Stage Right. He is also a frequent contributor to The
Pragmatist and The Common Conservative.
Enter Stage Right - http://www.enterstageright.com